I'm just finishing a Bible reading plan in which I am reading the entire Old Testament over the course of twelve weeks. It was originally an idea for a Sunday School class (sort of an Old Testament Survey), but I quickly decided it was unfeasible to try to do the entire OT in one quarter. But the process has gotten some extended thoughts on the Bible onto my mind.
After I finish my reading of the OT (after next week), I'll write up some thoughts afterward as I have time regarding what I learned from that process.
However, during the process of reading over the Bible that quickly, it occurred to me that there is a lot in the Old Testament that isn't necessary clear on first reading, either to the average believer or even, often enough, to those of us who teach the Bible.
There are any number of reasons for this, from the fact that much of the OT was written to an entirely different audience as us, we don't always have strong familiarity with the background of each book, and we're immersed in a culture that encourages us to take bite-size segments out of context without much thought of how it relates to what is written around it. But that's a problem for another day.
Frankly, most pastors (including me) don't spend a lot of time teaching on some of the more difficult sections of the OT - such as the law and much of the prophets. This isn't entirely a problem, except that we encourage church members to read the Bible through every year without necessarily equipping people with the means to understand a fair bit of what they're reading.
Enter Study Bibles. This is a resource that can be quite valuable when used properly. My first Study Bible, properly speaking, was a MacArthur Student Bible. I've enjoyed and been blessed by many of them ever since.
While I personally don't use Study Bibles while doing my normal Bible reading or listening to sermons, that is more of a personal decision. Basically, I find them too distracting because I spend too much time reading the notes.
My personal use of Study Bibles comes in two primary ways: 1) When I come across a passage in which the meaning of a particular verse or paragraph isn't entirely clear to me; 2) When I want to understand the main thrust of a given book of the Bible (most Study Bibles will give a summary of the content of each book, as well as other helpful information, at the beginning of each book).
Now, given that there are different kinds of Study Bibles and varying types of content contained in each, it struck me it might be helpful to write up a post on some of my favorites as well encouraging people to get (as you are able to) and use Study Bibles.
With the rest of the post, I'd like to list the four Study Bibles I use most often and what I especially like about them. In no particular order:
The Reformation Heritage King James Study Bible
If you know me well, you know I don't really use the KJV all that much. My primary version is the ESV, but I can still appreciate the history, richness, and gravitas of the King James. Besides which, if you can afford it, I think most people would benefit from owning a King James Bible, even if it isn't your primary version.
If you're one of those who stick primarily to the KJV, you may have noticed there aren't a lot of good Study Bibles out there for you. A lot of the best ones - such as the MacArthur Study Bible - haven't been adapted to the KJV. Good news: The Reformation Heritage KJV Study Bible (General Editor, Joel Beeke) is a great resource.
In addition to the standard Study Bible features such as including introductions to each book and regular notes in each chapter, the RH Study Bible has some really excellent additions that set it apart and make it a regular resource that I turn to.
First, at the end of most chapters, the RHSB includes usually 2-3 devotional thoughts on the content of the chapter. While studying, my focus begins with understanding the meaning of the text, and it can be easy to quickly pass over practical and devotional considerations. I consider this inclusion to be worth the cost of the RHSB by itself.
Additionally, in the back of the Bible, the RHSB has a number of resources, such as:
- Three dozen articles (a page each) on 'How to Live as a Christian', with such subjects as: Humility, Fleeing Worldliness, Family Worship, and Godly Contentment
- A one page summary of each century in Christian history from the 1st century till today
- Nine creeds and confessions of the church, such as the Apostles' Creed, the Nicene Creed, the Heidelberg Catechism, and the Westminster Confession and Shorter and Longer Catechism - even for Christians who don't attend a confessional church (such as myself), it is helpful to understand what the Church at large has agreed are key and foundational biblical positions over the past two-thousand years.
This is a beautiful merging of theological and practical resources. Whether you use the KJV or not, this is a great resource and one I turn to regularly.
The one disclaimer I would give (as a Baptist): Since the notes reflect the Reformation and Puritan age of the Church, the study notes are slanted more in the Presbyterian/Covenantal direction. But this is the case with most Study Bibles - the notes reflect the theological positions of the author(s). That will be the case with virtually any form of teaching - including any of the Bibles listed below.
The New English Translation Study Bible
Called the NET Bible because it was released initially on the internet, this is one of the newer Bible versions out there today.
I will say right at the beginning that, while I really enjoy this Study Bible, it is not for everyone. The project was created under the premise that, in the pursuit of accuracy, the translation itself would not be as focused on word-for-word translation as some versions today.
Just to explain briefly: When translating from the original languages to English, decisions have to made regarding how literally to translate the language. While many often argue that we need the most literal translation we can get, this is not actually practical.
If you've ever looked at an interlinear Bible, it becomes quickly obvious that, at the least, the grammar needs to be re-worded at times to make the translation clear. Also, decisions need to be made as far as idioms that simply don't carry over from one language to another - do we retain the idiom word for word, despite the loss of clarity, or do we try to capture the sense of the idiom as we might say it in English?
The difference between the views are often labeled as Formal Equivalence (translations that lean more towards a literal word-for-word translation at the expense of clarity) and Dynamic Equivalence (translations that lean more towards a less literal thought-for-thought translation at the expense of accuracy). The range can be demonstrated on a graph such as the one below:
Obviously this is not a precise science, but it gives a rough sense for how the versions line up. On the far end of the left side is an interlinear Bible. Basically, this just takes the Greek and translates it rigidly into English, including the word order. On the far right we find paraphrases - these translations aren't particularly concerned about fidelity to the Greek, their primary concern is readability.
While there's a place for both extremes, the ideal Bible for normal reading and study will be something in between, which is where you see most versions lining up. The NET is not listed, but would probably be around the NIV area.
There is no 'perfect' place on the line between readability and accuracy, however. At the end of the day, they're all translations of some kind, it really comes down to what each person is looking for in a translation.
One thing that is interesting about the NET, however: The study notes section includes 3 types of notes.
1) TC - Text-critical
The Text Critical (TC) notes are a really good resource for anyone who is interested in textual criticism, regardless of what side you fall on in the textual debates. They're not exhaustive, but they cover most variants worth mentioning.
The Translation Notes (TN) are surprisingly interesting as well, though. I noted before that the NET focuses more on readability than accuracy. The intent is that the study notes will explain what the text literally says where they make a significant departure from the Greek or Hebrew. While I primarily got the NET SB for the TC notes, I found the TN notes to be a fascinating addition, and one that I go back to quite a bit.
The Study Notes (SN) were probably the most surprising to me. These notes explain statements and practices that might not be clear to us do the culture gaps between today and Bible times.
In the back, the NET SB has a number of maps - there are some traditional maps like you'd find in most Bibles, but it also includes satellite images of the holy land that are quite stunning. They aren't what you get this Bible for, but they're a nice extra.
Also in the back, there's a number of information on textual criticism related to papyri, codex's, etc. It's the kind of stuff I enjoy reading about, but it provides a good primer on the subject to any who know little or nothing on it but enjoy that type of study.
All in all, the NET SB is not a Bible I'd recommend to just anyone like I would the RHSB above, but to any who found the contents intriguing, you might enjoy this one. And while the NET isn't my top choice for a translation, I use it a lot for comparison purposes.
The MacArthur Study Bible
The benefits of this one are pretty straightforward. If you're familiar with John MacArthur, you know you're getting notes that come from deep, serious study. While I don't agree on everything with Dr. MacArthur, what I love about this Bible is that it's a quick reference work and it includes extensive Old Testament notes that you can't get elsewhere since his commentaries only cover the New Testament.
An added benefit is that the MacArthur SB is available in four versions, which offers a nice flexibility: NKJV, NASB, NIV, and ESV.
While it doesn't have a lot of the extra, fancy stuff that the previous two did, what it does have is good, solid notes that you can feel a reasonable degree of confidence in using to explain the text to you.
Obviously, MacArthur is not perfect (no one is, after all), but as a general rule, his work is as good as anyone else out there. I'd probably recommend this one to just about anyone as a good one-volume commentary that is accessible on a fairly basic level.
The ESV Study Bible
It goes without saying that this is an ESV only SB. It's also a bit bulky with notes. It isn't necessarily one you want to carry around with you. I spend a fair bit of time referencing in this one, however, because of how extensive the notes are. The editors do a good job of explaining the different views on controversial subjects like eschatology and the ordinances, etc.
Whether you use the ESV or not, this still functions as a nice one-volume commentary, reference book. I enjoy it and it remains one of my go-to choices.
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Basically, the important thing for believers to be immersed in the word. Psalm 119, for instance, makes clear what the attitude of one who is united to Christ by faith will be in regards to the message of God. True believers delight in God's word and spend a great deal of our time reading it, thinking about it, and studying it, to whatever degree they are able.
The blessing, then, of Study Bibles, is clear: Wherever something is unclear - and let's be honest, there's a fair bit of this for all of us - it is helpful to have a resource(s) we can use to shed light on the text.
Even if you don't end up agreeing with the position in the Study Bible you use, you'll at least see a position on the passage that at least has a history of acceptance in the Church (which is more than we can say for our limited perspective on the text).
The more I study into the history of God's people, the more humbled I am at the gift we possess today in the riches of resources available to bring the word to us. If we love God, we should take advantage of it.
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